While there is doubtlessly some value to genuine researchers studying how different populations go about their sexual relations, it’s fair to say this isn’t that – this is PR-based market research to deliver an advert for a promotional voucher website:

The research, which was conducted by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, was part of an ongoing study into Britons’s intimate lives.

Sometimes, Bad PR stories are almost too perfect in the way they encapsulate the problems in PR and in the media. Take, for instance, today’s story from the Daily Star, which appeared on page 8 of the print edition:

You can whistle

Wolf calls survey anger

Some women actually like being wolf-whistled, accoridng to a provocative survey on International Women’s Day.

One in 11 – or 2.4 million – said they took it as a compliment.

But campaigners on the women’s rights day blasted the research’s “poor timing”. Despite it being treated as a hate crime, 39% of women told the study they “actively encourage” cat-calling and “hope” they will be wolf-whistled at.

Astonishing, you might think, that the Daily Star would run a story that suggests that so many women actually enjoy being harassed on the street – and on International Women’s Day at that! But at least the Star had the good decency to ensure they published a story which ostensibly was at least critical of cat-calling, or of the survey, right?

Well, that’s the funny thing – the original press release didn’t condemn cat-calling at all, and played the street harassment angle for a bit of cheeky fun, highlighting how being wolf-whistled on the street actually makes women feel confident and desirable. I know it did, because I saw the original release:

1 in 11 British Women LIKE Being Cat-Called

New research has revealed that one in eleven British women like being cat-called, with 39% of these stating that they ‘actively encourage’ catcalls and ‘hope’ they will be catcalled when they leave the house. Furthermore, 15% of women admitted to finding unavailable men attractive.

According to new research, one in eleven British women actually like it when men cat-call them, with many confessing that they boost their confidence and that they leave the house hoping to encourage that kind of attention. Furthermore, 15% of women confess to being attracted to unavailable men, with the majority stating that it makes them feel ‘more desirable’.

There was no mention of International Women’s Day, at all (although there is surely no chance the story wasn’t timed to deliberately appear on that particular day). There was, however, a nicely prominent mention of the originators of this story:

The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into British attitudes towards each other. 2,488 British women aged 18 and over were quizzed about the way that they’re treated by others and vice versa, and what they look for in a potential suitor.

So where did the condemnation come into it, and where did the reference to International Women’s Day come from? All I can surmise is that the original story was so completely tone-deaf and exploitative in its overt brandwagoning that it was too sexist even for the Daily Star to publish in its original format.

If the Star get half marks for their effort, zero marks have to go to VoucherCodesPro, the market research company used to compile the data (I’m pretty sure there is only One polling company likely to have been behind this one), and to the PR company who worked up this story for them – 10 Yetis.

In it they pour through the day’s news to highlight examples of PR done very well, and PR that backfires, has a poor reception or comes from a less-than-positive place. As a marketing tool, I’m sure it does wonders for the ethical perception of their agency, that they talk about the ethics and effectiveness of work done in their industry.

I wonder if they have the ethical integrity to add their own cynical and counter-productive International Women’s Day brandwagoning effort to their Bad PR round up tomorrow? I won’t hold my breath.

Coming straight out of the classic ‘kids these days have it too easy’ file, the revelation that children get money for their lost teeth, and that given the nature of inflation, that monetary amount differs from the amount you received as a child, if the thoughts of a doubtlessly-suspect market research poll can be believed, which of course they can’t. A poll which was commissioned, incidentally, by online polling company and serial Bad PR players Voucher Codes Pro:

The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into Britons’ finances, with a particular focus on children’s pocket-money politics.

George Charles, spokesperson for www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, made the following comments:

‘It doesn’t seem fair that some get more from the Tooth Fairy than others, but ultimately if the child is happy with a visit from the Tooth Fairy then it doesn’t matter what is left behind in exchange for the teeth that have fallen out.

‘It’s interesting though that the majority of children go shopping for sweets following the loss of a tooth; probably not something that dentists would advise, but hey, they’re going to lose their baby teeth anyway.’

It’s not so much an insight into the rising cost of childhood tooth loss, as it is an advert for a company that makes money distributing online money-off vouchers and has no better way of marketing a product that is quite so intangible than to run dodgy PR surveys in the national news.

Want to spice up your love life? Get a TV in your bedroom! People with a telly in the boudoir have TWICE as much sex (what ARE they watching?)

Having a TV in your bedroom may damage your sleep cycle – but it could also spice up your sex life, if the latest research is to be believed.
Those with a TV in their bedroom have sex, on average, twice as much as those who don’t, according to a new poll.

Initially all respondents were asked ‘Do you have a TV in your bedroom?’ to which three quarters, 74 per cent, of the people taking part said ‘yes’.

In the world of tabloids and cheap PR, there’s no shortage of companies and products promising you a better sex live. There are plenty of examples listed on this very website, no less.

Who is it this time pressing the big red button labelled SEX?

A spokesperson for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, who commissioned the research, said: ‘We’re a little surprised that Britons who have a TV in their bedroom have a more active sex life than those who don’t, but it makes more sense when you look at the possible reasons why.

Oh really, discount voucher website? You believe this is genuine research, then? And definitely not about convincing people to take advantage of your discount deals on televisions?

‘However, we’d suggest that if they were wondering how to improve their sex lives, they could do so simply by purchasing a TV for their bedroom.

‘Technology is becoming such a pivotal part of everyday life and it’s becoming much more common to have a TV in your bedroom than to not.

Whilst it’s much better for your health to use your bedroom as a place to sleep and your living room as a place to watch TV, it seems that the addition of a plasma could spice things up between the sheets!’

Keeping up with the requirements of the obese generation is no easy task, with one in three children under the age of 10 apparently eating ‘junk food’ every day – totalling around £26 per child, per month. That’s a scary-sounding statistic, especially when you’re not forced to define precisely what counts as ‘junk food’. That said, we are offered a list of the most common junk foods for children:

Takeaway pizza was the junk food children were most likely to eat. This was followed by chocolate, which 26 per cent of parents said their children ate regularly, while 17 per cent of parents said their children consumed food from fast food chains most often.

The apparent disparity between junk food being consumed ‘daily’ while the most common foods are consumed only ‘regularly’ isn’t one that’s explored in any real detail, nor is it clarified where parents are finding daily takeaway pizza for an average of 85p per day. It’s as if the stats aren’t the real purpose of the story… Speaking of which, if you think this article appears in the news solely in order to raise awareness of the crisis of children’s diets, think again:

A fifth of parents admitted they regularly lie to others about how much pizza, chocolate and crisps their children are eating to avoid being judged by their peers or seen as ‘cheap’.

The survey, by discount website www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, analysed the shopping habits of 1,426 parents who had at least one child aged 10 or under. This revealed that the average spend per child was £26 every month.

George Charles, of VoucherCodesPro, said: ‘Parents may be lying about how much junk food they feed their kids because they’re worried about looking ‘cheap’ but that couldn’t be further from the truth.’

So, not only is it terrible that kids eat so much junk, but it’s also expensive, despite how ‘cheap’ it might seem. Fortunately, of course, there are great deals and savings to be had by visiting VoucherCodesPro, the discount website who paid for this story to appear as news. Let’s hope they didn’t spend too much on it.

There we have it, ladies – if it’s a man you’re after, you’d best wear red. Similarly, if you’re looking to bag yourself a bull, wearing red works for that too. Wear too much red and, presumably, you’re in danger of dating a minotaur.

Still, while there’s nothing groundbreaking in the revelation that women look attractive when dressed in red, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a company behind the article looking to cash in on a well-worn stereotype:

‘Whilst it may well be considered fickle to base the odds of a second date with someone on the colour they choose to wear upon an initial meeting, the fact is that we make our primary assessments of potential partners extremely quickly,’ said George Charles of vouchercodespro.co.uk, who commissioned the research.

Who is the money-saving website incongruously dropped into the third paragraph, and responsible for the awfmanteau* ‘famicable’?

Just under half (47 per cent) keep family members and family of loved ones as friends because they feel they have to, the poll for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, found.

George Charles, marketing director of VoucherCodesPro, said: ‘It seems with the results of this study, the old saying about keeping your friends close, but your enemies even closer, is definitely alive and well even in today’s society with our reliance on the internet.’

VoucherCodesPro, exploiting meaningless social media truisms with terrible marketing portmanteaus, just to remind you they still exist.